Don’t give up! You will face resistance in trying to spend time with God. The other day (day 2), I was attempting to spend time with God and the phone rang three different times, and our dog went crazy because someone came too close to our house. It was clear that satan didn’t want me to spend quiet time with the Lord. I persisted on this occasion but if you have missed a day, or haven’t started yet, why not start (or start again) tomorrow. Lamentations 3:21-23 says:

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.

Journal Entry (Anonymous)

We will be posting entries that we have requested from people that are participating in this challenge throughout these 40 days. This is our first one from an anonymous person. I hope it is an encouragement to you.

Blessed Lord, who caused all Holy Scripture to be written for our learning: Grant me so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that I may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever, Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer)

“I was glad when they said to me, ‘let us go to the house of the Lord… For there are the thrones of judgement, the thrones of the house of David.” – Psalm 122:1,5

“Rejoice heart and soul… shout for joy … Look your King is approaching, he is vindicated and victorious” – Zechariah 9:9

“Tell it out among the nations: ‘The Lord is King! He has made the world so firm that it can not be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity.'” – Psalm 96:10

Your throne, O God, Endures for ever and ever – Psalm 45:1-10

Hallowed be thy name, Thy Kingdom come. They will be done on each as it is in heaven – The Lord’s Prayer

“You must go through the trial before you have any right to pronounce a verdict, by going through the trial you learn to know God better. God is working in us to reach His highest goals until His purpose and our purpose become one. (Conforming my will to His) – Oswald Chambers

And He will protect me through it –

“For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.” – Psalm 91:11

“If you had eyes to see, you would perceive a bodyguard of angels always attending every one of the blood bought family.” – C.H. Spurgeon

“I have been young and now I am old, but never have I seen the righteous forsaken, or their children begging bread” – Psalm 37:26

Lord, I’m fearful, I’m anxious, I’m depressed. I’m worried about both getting a job and finding a job. I worry equally about the smallest things like my schedule and big things like a friend’s sister in ICU. I feel helpless at times when it comes to my marriage, my ministry, and life in general.

I know you are on the throne but as all of the readers of the Bible need to heat it, so do I (today and probably everyday). I know you are working your will into my life and it’s hard, it feels like dying. I feel like a failure although I’m probably just mourning the loss of my will.

I know you will protect me; I just don’t always see you working. I have absolutely no evidence of your unfaithfulness. You have always been faithful. You can’t not be faithful.

I don’t know how to pray – I ask for a closer walk with You during these 40 days and I ask that it be a blessing to others. In Jesus’ very precious name. Amen.

I struggle with anxiety. I guess this isn’t too hard to admit here, since many of you don’t know my name. My guess is that I’m not the only Christian that does. According to recent statistics about 18% of people over 18 suffer from some form of anxiety. That’s about 40 million adults in the US. Actually, anxiety disorders are the number one mental health problem in America, surpassing even depression in numbers. So, I’m clearly not alone.

Embarrassed by Anxiety

That said, once my anxiety became a true problem a few years ago, I started to also feel guilty. I thought, if I had more faith, I wouldn’t be anxious. I felt that my anxiety was a verdict on the state of my walk with God. It took me a long time to realize that this might not be true.

I read all the scriptures that said we should “be anxious for nothing…” (Phil 4:6) but trust in the Lord who is sovereign. I tried – but I remained anxious. Through this experience I realized two things:

“…the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” – Romans 8:26

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” 1 Peter 5:6-7

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” – Philippians 4:6-7

Scripture doesn’t condemn anxiety, it seems to compassionately try to help you avoid it and overcome it. This is an important difference. I don’t believe anxiety is a sin, still God doesn’t desire us to be anxious. He wants us to turn to Him in everything and trust him.

Actually, it is interesting that many famous Christians have suffered from anxiety including Abraham Lincoln, Rick Warren, John Bunyan (Pilgrim’s Progress) and even Charles Spurgeon (known as the ‘Prince of Preachers’) may have struggled with it. They all had a huge impact and therefore anxiety doesn’t need to stop us.

Practical Solutions to Anxiety

God says that we should trust him with our finances but that doesn’t mean we don’t create a budget. He tells us that He will always be with us, but that doesn’t mean we should haphazardly walk through a terrible area of town. Likewise, there are practical things we can do, and avoid when it comes to anxiety.

Please note, there are many reasons for anxiety and sometimes professional help and medication is the best answer. What I’ve found is that I need to know what I’m trusting God for, and therefore thinking through and journaling about it helps.

In our next blog, we are going to go through two tools. A simple breathing exercise and what is called cognitive restructuring which is closely linked to journaling but with a focus on dealing with the anxiety of the moment. Look for this blog on Thursday, November 1st

Let us know your thoughts; does this subject resonate with you? Have you felt guilty because of anxiety? What has helped you to overcome your anxiety? We want to hear what you have to say!

In the middle of one of the most incredible chapters in all the Bible sits a very unsettling verse. Romans 8 comes at us with a torrent of promises and reveals to us the heights of Christ’s love and the depths of God’s immovable purposes. The Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of God the Spirit pens this treasure of a chapter. At the end of the chapter we read the following:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? (8:35)

Beautiful. I’m with you, Paul. This is a great hypothetical question that obviously is answered by a resounding “no!”

Then comes verse 36:

As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”